U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,331, granted to James C. Dipprey and Jesse J. Sandifer, on June 5, 1962, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,255, granted on the same inventors, on Jan. 21, 1964, each disclose an optical lens polishing machine of a type in which a lens to be polished is positioned between the upper end of a rotating spindle and the lower end of an oscillating pad. The lens is secured to one of these members by means of pitch or the like and a polishing compound is introduced between the other member and the opposite surface of the lens. The present invention was made while working to provide an improved mechanism for oscillating the oscillating pad in a machine of the general type disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,037,331, and 3,118,225.
The following United States Patents disclose additional known mechanisms for polishing lenses or other articles: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,881,982, granted Oct. 11, 1932, to William R. Uhlemann; 3,203,138, granted Aug. 31, 1965, to Thomas L. Ford; 3,225,497, granted Dec. 28, 1965, to Milo O. Brandt; 3,258,879, granted July 5, 1966, to Carlyle A. Edelstein; 3,534,506, granted Oct. 20, 1970, to William Soong et al; 3,739,534, granted June 19, 1973, to Walter A. Schlotfeldt; 3,574,977, granted Apr. 13, 1971, to John D. Spragg; 3,782,042, granted Jan. 1, 1974, to Ray H. Strasbaugh; 4,038,783, granted Aug. 2, 1977, to Leon Rosenthal; and 4,216,626, granted Aug. 12, 1980, to Franz Starp.
These patents should be carefully considered for the purpose of putting the present invention into proper perspective relative to the prior art.